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Discord in the House of Saud

A Saudi prince who was kidnapped in Switzerland, smuggled back to the kingdom and placed under house arrest is threatening to take senior ministers to court.

21 Jan 2004 14:24 GMT

Saudi minister of Islamic affairs may be sued over kidnapping

Speaking exclusively to Aljazeera on Wednesday, Prince Sultan bin Turki bin Abd al-Aziz described in detail how he was seized in Geneva and taken back to Saudi Arabia against his will last June.

The king's nephew is currently under house arrest in the Saudi capital, but still plans to take the State Minister Prince Abd al-Aziz bin Fahd and Islamic Affairs Minister Shaikh Salih Al al-Shaikh to court.

The kidnapped prince said five masked men had stormed his office in Geneva while he was meeting another member of the royal family, beat, bound and gagged him before loading him on to a private jet.

Outspoken criticism

"However, it is impossible to keep him silent either and very difficult for authorities to stop mobile phones and faxes from being smuggled in and out of the palace."

Dr Saad al-Faqih

In his official statement, Prince Sultan said he held "the Saudi government responsible for meting out justice" and he expected the two ministers to pay the consequences of their actions.

A leading Saudi reformist, London-based Dr Saad al-Faqih, said Riyadh was faced with a real problem in dealing with the prince, his high profile making it extremely unlikely he would be imprisoned or murdered.

"However, it is impossible to keep him silent either and very difficult for authorities to stop mobile phones and faxes from being smuggled in and out of the palace."